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Journalism of Courage
Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and suspended Chief Justice Iftikar M Chaudhry will address separate rallies tomorrow to demonstrate their public support.
Musharraf would address what the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Q leaders called a 8220;massive public rally8221; in front of Parliament in Islamabad, while ruling coalition ally Muthahida Quami Movement MQM has geared up to hold a big demonstration in Karachi in his support.
Chaudhry8217;s lawyers brushed aside the possibility of any change in the plan. His lawyer and retired judge Tariq Mehmood said the Sindh High Court Bar gathering which Chaudhry would address was a 8220;purely non-political event8221; and there should be 8220;no cause of concern to any political party8221;.
8220;To avoid any clash in Karachi where the MQM is also holding a rally, he will go straight to Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah8217;s mausoleum to salute the great leader who also happened to be a lawyer by profession,8221; Mehmood said. An MQM leader, Farooq Sattar, however, said his party plans to start its procession from outside the mausoleum.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister of Punjab province Chaudhry Pervez Elahi said the federal government is considering filing another reference against Chaudhry. 8220;The legal team of the President is pondering over filling another reference against the chief justice,8221; Elahi told a news conference today.
Tension prevailed in Karachi on the eve of the two rallies. A security guard, Ameer Khan 22, was gunned down today by a group of people, who were trying to forcibly shut shops on the route to be used by Chaudhry.
8220;There will be around 12,000 security personal deployed in different parts of the city,8221; Sindh Home Minister Waseem Akhtar said.
Opposition parties, including the Mutthaida Majlis Amal MMA and Peoples Party, claimed police have picked up some 1,100 of their workers since yesterday in a massive crackdown.
Akhtar denied this, but a police officer, Azhar Farooqi, said about 100 people have been detained.
Police also arrested 12 persons in Karachi on Wednesday night for allegedly plotting to disrupt the rally.
Former law minister and human rights activist Iqbal Haider said there were fears of clashes between MQM workers and lawyers and Opposition party activists.
Aitzaz Ahsan, a central Pakistan People8217;s Party PPP leader, said 8220;If anything happens tomorrow, the responsibility will be on government.8221;
The two pro-government rallies have been planned to counter expected massive public response to Chaudhry, who, last weekend, drew huge crowds during his road travel from Islamabad to Lahore where he addressed a lawyers8217; convention.
Chaudhry is expected to receive similar public reception during his visit to Karachi tomorrow, where the opposition parties and the lawyers8217; organisations planned to take him in a procession from the airport to the meeting venue.
Public transporters and fuelling stations started closing their businesses since this evening in fear of impending violence. Traffic was thin in the city, where all educational institutions will remain closed tomorrow on government order.
